Farm raised rabbit

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di reston

Sous Chef
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Calosso, Piemonte
This a recipe that requires 1 farmyard raised rabbit - wild won't do - that's very popular in Italy, especially in the Italian Western Riviera. It's truly delicious. The thing that appeals to me is that there aren't very many ingredients:
1 large rabbit, jointed
1 large onion
equal quantities of fresh sage, bay leaves and fresh rosemary
80 grams of 80 taggiasche olives
2 spoonsful of pine nuts
250 ml light white wine
EVOO

Place the rabbit pieces in a frying pan,nothing else, on low, to draw the juices out.When the juices dry out remove the rabbit pieces and rinse the pan. Throw the juices away.
Put 1 - 2 tbsp, and add the onion and garlic, and then the pine nuts and the herbs. Cook on a low heat for 50-60 mins, adding the stock a little at a time. After 30 mins, add the olives, and when they are soft, and the sauce is reduced a bit by half, serve

The Ligurian olives are small, black, soft, and fruity vis à vis other olives, and this recipe requires such similar, in olive oil and not brine.


di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde
 
I’ve always wondered why the Americans and Europeans are horrified at the Asian tradition of raising dogs for meat and consuming them, but glorify cooked rabbit as a delicacy.
 
I’ve always wondered why the Americans and Europeans are horrified at the Asian tradition of raising dogs for meat and consuming them, but glorify cooked rabbit as a delicacy.
Don’t get me wrong, raising dogs for food isn’t something I support. It’s not even something I’m comfortable with. I’m just saying, how can you make an argument against dogs as food while you’re dining on braised rabbit?
 
Cultural differences.
Then why do Americans and Europeans advocate for the elimination of the dog-for-food industry in Korea? Shouldn’t we all just mind our own business while eating our rabbits and goat? “We don’t eat dogs, that’s disgusting! So you shouldn’t eat dogs either,” is a very narrow point of view. And Koreans aren’t going around advertising “try some dog thigh in your next stew! You’ll love it.”

And what about monkeys? They are consumed regularly in Southeast Asia with no moral outrage from anywhere else in the world. I do understand that a lot of the outrage is over the way dogs are raised for food, I’m right in line with those people, but shouldn’t we be taking care of our own treatment of livestock before we worry about practices halfway round the world?

I’m playing devil’s advocate here. I could no sooner eat dog meat than I could eat dog poop. The very thought is repugnant.
 
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This a recipe that requires 1 farmyard raised rabbit - wild won't do - that's very popular in Italy, especially in the Italian Western Riviera. It's truly delicious. The thing that appeals to me is that there aren't very many ingredients:
1 large rabbit, jointed
1 large onion
equal quantities of fresh sage, bay leaves and fresh rosemary
80 grams of 80 taggiasche olives
2 spoonsful of pine nuts
250 ml light white wine
EVOO

Place the rabbit pieces in a frying pan,nothing else, on low, to draw the juices out.When the juices dry out remove the rabbit pieces and rinse the pan. Throw the juices away.
Put 1 - 2 tbsp, and add the onion and garlic, and then the pine nuts and the herbs. Cook on a low heat for 50-60 mins, adding the stock a little at a time. After 30 mins, add the olives, and when they are soft, and the sauce is reduced a bit by half, serve

The Ligurian olives are small, black, soft, and fruity vis à vis other olives, and this recipe requires such similar, in olive oil and not brine.


di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde

di - Is that oil or broth for doing the onion and garlic? I didn't realize rabbit would have so much liquid. Having never done rabbit (another on my to do list) I can only go by how they look at the grocer's. Rather dry looking.
 
The method is: fry off the rabbit pieces, then add the onions and garlic and lower the heat. Sautè this and when the onions start to get soft, add the black olives. The olives are the real ingredient that make this dish, together with the pine nuts. Then add your white wine and cook on a low heat until the meat is tender and comes off the bones. That's when it's ready. A little fresh rosemary enhances the flavours. The juices are an important element with this, and they're delicous mopped up withy rustic bread.


di reston


Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde
 
Don’t get me wrong, raising dogs for food isn’t something I support. It’s not even something I’m comfortable with. I’m just saying, how can you make an argument against dogs as food while you’re dining on braised rabbit?
Are you vegan? I don't eat farmed rabbit because most of the stuff that gets into supermarkets here comes from China and lives in disgusting conditions when being fattened.

At least a wild rabbit has a good life until the last coup de gras. In England they can ruin crops. A friend of mine has a gun (yes, that is unusual in UK - He's ex-army and currently in the territorials so he knows what he's doing). He has a licence for it in order to shoot rabbits for local farmers who'd rather have a good shot to kill the rabbits humanely than do it themselves and not make clean kills. He sells the corpses to a local butcher so the rabbits don't die in vain.

A wild rabbit might be a bit tougher than a farmed one and need a different type of cooking.

In 1953 the government allowed the artificial introduction myxomatosis, a very unpleasant rabbit disease, which rarely killed quickly. They gradually developed some degree of immunity but there is still the odd small break out
 
Are you vegan? I don't eat farmed rabbit because most of the stuff that gets into supermarkets here comes from China and lives in disgusting conditions when being fattened.

At least a wild rabbit has a good life until the last coup de gras. In England they can ruin crops. A friend of mine has a gun (yes, that is unusual in UK - He's ex-army and currently in the territorials so he knows what he's doing). He has a licence for it in order to shoot rabbits for local farmers who'd rather have a good shot to kill the rabbits humanely than do it themselves and not make clean kills. He sells the corpses to a local butcher so the rabbits don't die in vain.

A wild rabbit might be a bit tougher than a farmed one and need a different type of cooking.

In 1953 the government allowed the artificial introduction myxomatosis, a very unpleasant rabbit disease, which rarely killed quickly. They gradually developed some degree of immunity but there is still the odd small break out
No, I’m not a vegan, not even a vegetarian, although I seldom eat beef or pork. I do love my chicken and fish though, and eggs and milk products are absolute essentials in my kitchen. I guess that makes me guilty of the egregiously inhumane treatment and slaughter of millions of animals, not to mention a major contributor to global warming and the country’s carbon footprint.

And I’ve eaten some strictly verboten items, from whale meat to shark fins, although I had no idea what the soup was at our hosted Chinese feast until it was finished. I’ve never eaten that again, but not out of concerns for the ecology; it simply wasn’t very good at all, definitely not good enough to kill millions of sharks for. The whale meat was actually quite good, like very lean steak with a seafood umami quality. I imagine you can guess in which country I had this delicacy; and it is indeed a delicacy, even in Japan, whose merciless and cruel policies regarding whales I wholly condemn. It is very expensive, and in the few restaurants it’s served, it’s in very small quantities.

I also had rabbit once, again in Japan, but in a French restaurant. And again, I was not aware it was rabbit until the meal was over. I would never knowingly eat rabbit for the same reason I would never eat dog; to me, they are humans’ companions, to be cherished, not sautéed. I’m sure there are some who feel the same way about fowl, be it chicken, duck, or goose. I’ll bet there are several aquarium enthusiasts who refrain from pescatarian dishes for the same reason.

Perhaps my thinking is hypocritical, perhaps just confused. I won’t try to defend it, especially here, where conversation is about food and not culinary politics. And I gladly cater to vegan or vegetarian guests for whom I cook, as well as those who are gluten-free, or allergic to peanuts or shellfish or any of the other dozen or so food allergies that have cropped up in recent years. Kosher is a bit more difficult to accommodate, as not only the food has to be kosher; the cookware in which it’s prepared and the utensils used in preparation, and the dishes in which it is served must also be kosher as well, and if there is anything my kitchen is not, it’s kosher!
 
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At least a wild rabbit has a good life until the last coup de gras. In England they can ruin crops. A friend of mine has a gun (yes, that is unusual in UK - He's ex-army and currently in the territorials so he knows what he's doing). He has a licence for it in order to shoot rabbits for local farmers who'd rather have a good shot to kill the rabbits humanely than do it themselves and not make clean kills. He sells the corpses to a local butcher so the rabbits don't die in vain.

In this country, many public land purchases and conservation projects are partially supported by funds from excise taxes on the purchase of firearms and ammunition. This is provided for by the Pittman-Robertson Act from 1937. I believe that in most states you must take a hunter safety course before you can purchase a hunting license.
 
I’ve always wondered why the Americans and Europeans are horrified at the Asian tradition of raising dogs for meat and consuming them, but glorify cooked rabbit as a delicacy.

Don’t get me wrong, raising dogs for food isn’t something I support. It’s not even something I’m comfortable with. I’m just saying, how can you make an argument against dogs as food while you’re dining on braised rabbit?

Dogs have partnered with man for 1000's of years, worked with him and for him, shown love and loyalty and intelligence. Rabbits rob your garden, dig holes in your pasture, and generally make a pest of themselves. Rabbits come from the same family as rats and mice, neither of which is generally considered a loving, devoted friend like a dog is. That's all the reason I need to differentiate my feelings about the two species.

I've tasted rabbit in a Moroccan restaurant - wasn't overly impressed, but that might be just me. I don't think I could eat dog if I was starving. In fact, a hungry man will still share what little food he has with his dog.... never heard of anyone doing that with a rabbit.

Dog's and cats (I'm not a cat person, but I still see them in a similar vein as dogs) have been loyal companions to man for too long to be viewed as just "food". The mere thought is repugnant - it would be quite literally the same as cannibalism to me.
 
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I quite agree - dogs and cats are able to 'bond' with their owners. In Italy, rabbits can be pests. They're considered food, and are mostly raised as such. Dogs have a job to do, which is to guard the premises. Strangers know they shouldn't approach them. Then there are the miniature dogs lap dogs and small guard dogs like corgis, the hunting dogs (wild boar, etc.), and setters and that category too, for flushing out game birds, and wild rabbits and game birds. It must be like that in the USA. Nothing that is out of the ordinary. But the way they kill dogs in Korea is sickening.

di reston

Enough is never as good as a feast Oscar Wilde
 
Don’t get me wrong, raising dogs for food isn’t something I support. It’s not even something I’m comfortable with. I’m just saying, how can you make an argument against dogs as food while you’re dining on braised rabbit?

Same goes with horses, hamsters, squirrels. I'm sure there is more.

And yet, I still think Joel is right, or at least the way I understood him. It is not America business to tell other countries what and how to eat. I've eaten dog. Though I did not know what I was eating. Had a lot of Korean friends in college. There was a large stray dog living near dorm, one day Koreans were having party. But dog was no more. Can't say I liked it, can't say I did not like it. But in the same meal we had vodka with the snake inside the bottle, after drinking that and chasing with the piece of snake, I think you can eat anything. Same with horse meat. It makes the best salami, used to love it. And in Mongolia it is sold as canned meat, sort of like canned chicken here.
:ermm:
I think it's bad enough that all these powerful countries are mangeling in politics of others, for sure there should not be any interference in food industry.
 
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... Kosher is a bit more difficult to accommodate, as not only the food has to be kosher; the cookware in which it’s prepared and the utensils used in preparation, and the dishes in which it is served must also be kosher as well, and if there is anything my kitchen is not, it’s kosher!

:LOL:

Add the stove and oven into that line.
;)
 
I’ve always wondered why the Americans and Europeans are horrified at the Asian tradition of raising dogs for meat and consuming them, but glorify cooked rabbit as a delicacy.

Perhaps for the same reason they villify raising and eating veal, but have no problem with lamb?
 
No, I’m not a vegan, not even a vegetarian, although I seldom eat beef or pork. I do love my chicken and fish though, and eggs and milk products are absolute essentials in my kitchen. I guess that makes me guilty of the egregiously inhumane treatment and slaughter of millions of animals, not to mention a major contributor to global warming and the country’s carbon footprint.

And I’ve eaten some strictly verboten items, from whale meat to shark fins, although I had no idea what the soup was at our hosted Chinese feast until it was finished. I’ve never eaten that again, but not out of concerns for the ecology; it simply wasn’t very good at all, definitely not good enough to kill millions of sharks for. The whale meat was actually quite good, like very lean steak with a seafood umami quality. I imagine you can guess in which country I had this delicacy; and it is indeed a delicacy, even in Japan, whose merciless and cruel policies regarding whales I wholly condemn. It is very expensive, and in the few restaurants it’s served, it’s in very small quantities.

I also had rabbit once, again in Japan, but in a French restaurant. And again, I was not aware it was rabbit until the meal was over. I would never knowingly eat rabbit for the same reason I would never eat dog; to me, they are humans’ companions, to be cherished, not sautéed. I’m sure there are some who feel the same way about fowl, be it chicken, duck, or goose. I’ll bet there are several aquarium enthusiasts who refrain from pescatarian dishes for the same reason.

Perhaps my thinking is hypocritical, perhaps just confused. I won’t try to defend it, especially here, where conversation is about food and not culinary politics. And I gladly cater to vegan or vegetarian guests for whom I cook, as well as those who are gluten-free, or allergic to peanuts or shellfish or any of the other dozen or so food allergies that have cropped up in recent years. Kosher is a bit more difficult to accommodate, as not only the food has to be kosher; the cookware in which it’s prepared and the utensils used in preparation, and the dishes in which it is served must also be kosher as well, and if there is anything my kitchen is not, it’s kosher!
The vegan question wasn't an accusation, just a interested query.

Regarding rabbits as pests - in many countries wild rabbits are a serious threat to food production. In the early 1900s Western Australia was so infested that they tried to build a fence to keep rabbits out. I admit that they can be excellent pets but we don't eat our pets.Rabbits for the pot are sourced from rabbit farming or from culling wild rabbits and the latter are a different kettle of fish from the former

We are lucky were I live. The local butcher has his own slaughter set up and prides himself on knowing which farm any piece of meat in his shop came from. If we are going to eat dead animals I think it incumbent on us to be aware of how they are treated and to make sure we only buy our meat from sources which treat their "victims" with proper care and attention.

Incidentally, one of the local butcher's slaughter men left to take on a better paid job in a large commercial slaughter house. He only managed a few weeks before asking for his old job back - He said that he couldn't stand the way the big abbatoir treated the animals and conducted their demise despite the methods being within the law - just!
 
When my brother and I were young'uns, we moved from the 'burbs in Riverside County to a 5-acre place in the high desert of Kern County. There were several outbuildings, a barn, and a stable on the property - I was so excited to move there because I would be able to have my horse on our own property instead of having to board her. :)

My dad decided if he was going to have a horse on his new property, he may as well raise chickens and rabbits. :LOL: He researched the care and raising of rabbits, fixed up one of the outbuildings, installed a swamp cooler for their comfort, built some big cages, and bought some rabbits. I learned real quick to not make friends with them and to put out of my memory of how they met their demise....but I also remember some delicious fried, stewed, and braised rabbit meals on the dinner table. :chef:
 
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Dogs have partnered with man for 1000's of years, worked with him and for him, shown love and loyalty and intelligence. Rabbits rob your garden, dig holes in your pasture, and generally make a pest of themselves. Rabbits come from the same family as rats and mice, neither of which is generally considered a loving, devoted friend like a dog is. That's all the reason I need to differentiate my feelings about the two species.

I've tasted rabbit in a Moroccan restaurant - wasn't overly impressed, but that might be just me. I don't think I could eat dog if I was starving. In fact, a hungry man will still share what little food he has with his dog.... never heard of anyone doing that with a rabbit.

Dog's and cats (I'm not a cat person, but I still see them in a similar vein as dogs) have been loyal companions to man for too long to be viewed as just "food". The mere thought is repugnant - it would be quite literally the same as cannibalism to me.
And dogs and cats are, to a certain extent, working animals. My house is surrounded by fields and my cat is on the payroll - she's a demon mouser and catches every one that finds its way into the kitchen (she also catches birds but she's a cat and doesn't understand the difference).

In the UK we don't have a tradition of eating horses (except, possibly, in wartime when food is desperately short). Why would we eat the animal who, in the past, helped fight our battles, provided us with transport, laboured in our fields, helped us gather wood for our fires, take our goods to market and currently helps exercise us and our children and gives pleasure and companionship to adults and children alike and can be trained (like dogs) to be assistance animals. As for dogs, they have guarded our homes and helped us catch our food, guided the blind and assisted people with all sorts of illnesses to live safe lives, minded our babies (as the neighbour's dog did when Mother put me out in my pram for fresh air - he sat by my pram and barked when I cried and growled at passing strangers). Would anyone want to eat friends like that?

A rabbit is a whole other issue. Wild rabbits are a pest and a serious threat to agriculture. They can decimate crops both on farms and in private gardens.
 
MC, your neighbors across the pan don't seem to mind eating horse meat. But then they also eat frogs that is absolutely disgusting looking creature.
 
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